Full Spectrum: Colour in Contemporary Architecture makes the case that colour is not decoration but a political and projective force — one that, in the hands of contemporary architects, actively reshapes visual culture and expands whose references count.
About This Book
Colour has long been architecture's most contested medium: morally charged by modernism, reclaimed by postmodernism, and now radically transformed by digital fabrication and computational design. This anthology maps that transformation. Edited by Elena Manferdini and Jasmine Benyamin, Full Spectrum draws together architects, critics, and theorists to argue that colour in contemporary architecture is neither cosmetic nor neutral — it is a mode of working and a political proposition. In an era when the full chromatic range is technically achievable, the question becomes what colour does and for whom. The book argues that deploying the full spectrum is an act of democratising visual culture: inviting new subjectivities, new references, and new voices into architectural discourse.
Key Features
- 144 pages of critical essays, visual surveys, and architectural polemic on colour theory and practice
- Contributions from 100 Architects, Maya Alam, David Batchelor, Galo Canizares, Courtney Coffman, Fala Atelier, Marcelyn Gow, Sauerbruch Hutton, Sam Jacobs, Carolyn Kane, Guto Requena, Paulette Singley, Amanda Williams, and Mimi Zeiger
- Edited by Elena Manferdini and Jasmine Benyamin
- Published by RIBA Publishing
What You'll Discover
- How the second digital age has fundamentally altered the way architects engage with colour — from polychromy to embedded building systems and facades
- The argument that colour operates as a political proposition, capable of democratising visual culture by opening architecture to new subjectivities and references
- A historical arc from the polychromy of antiquity through the white interiors of high modernism to the figurative registers of postmodernism and beyond
- Why colour in contemporary architecture is not about idealised worlds but about generating new imaginaries — prompting rather than picturing
About the Author
Elena Manferdini is the editor of this volume, working alongside co-editor Jasmine Benyamin. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 144
- Dimensions: 250 x 210 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781915722034
- Publisher: RIBA Publishing
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and designers working with colour as a design driver, students of architectural theory and visual culture, and anyone interested in how chromatic thinking intersects with politics, technology, and contemporary practice.